General practitioners warn against moves to allow nurses to do sonography

Some medical societies are pushing for nurses to perform liver ultrasounds, raising concerns among neighborhood clinics and licensed radiologists.

Like the controversy over the use of ultrasound diagnostic devices by oriental medicine doctors, nurses and medical technicians will likely use ultrasound devices based on the fact that it is a non-invasive test, critics said.

"Recently, some medical societies are making moves to open up shear wave elastography lectures for liver disease diagnosis to nurses and issue certificates of completion," said Shin Joong-ho, president of the Korean Society of Ultrasound in Medicine (KSUM), in a telephone interview with Korea Biomedical Review on Monday. “We will strongly deal with such moves.”

The KSUM also issued a statement last Wednesday, calling for nurses to be legally regulated to perform liver ultrasounds. It criticized the practice of "some ignorant organizations are trying to take advantage of economic benefits by entrusting nurses to perform the examination indiscriminately," pointing out that some medical societies, rather than specific individuals or medical institutions, are acting in an organized manner.

"Shear wave elasticity testing requires basic knowledge of ultrasound examination, which means that they will teach ultrasound to nurses, and let nurses perform the test," Shin said. "It means that doctors will violate medical laws and entrust nurses with unlicensed medical practice. As a practitioner, I would be concerned."

If such moves are not sanctioned because it is a non-invasive test, it could lead to a similar controversy as the use of ultrasound diagnostic devices by oriental medicine doctors, Shin said. Combined with the recent increase in the proportion of physician assistants (PAs) in university hospitals, the controversy could spread to nurses, radiologists, and other medical professionals.

The KSUM stated that it is monitoring the situation closely following the announcement. If the problem persists, it plans to make a formal recommendation to its parent organization, the Korean Association of Internal Medicine.

“In the trial on the use of ultrasound diagnostic devices by oriental medicine doctors in 2022, patients suffered significant damage due to the wrong diagnosis by herbal medicine practitioners. Ultrasound examination is a key diagnostic tool. If done incorrectly, it can change the outcome of treatment. It should not be allowed to non-doctors under the logic that it is non-invasive and there is no immediate harm," Shin said.